Uruguayan President Yamandú Orsi is this week facing public questioning over the purchase, eight days before his inauguration on 1 March 2025, of a zero-kilometre Hyundai Santa Fe SUV for an invoiced value of USD 54,000, although the model was being offered by the same company at around USD 78,990. The difference, close to USD 25,000, was confirmed by the presidential entourage as a “discount or rebate” on the transaction, without specifying whether it corresponded to a standard commercial policy of the dealership or to a particular condition extended to the then-president-elect.
The information was revealed by Patricia Madrid, host of the radio programme Así Nos Va, following queries directed at the Uruguayan presidency after she detected discrepancies in Orsi's most recent sworn statement of assets filed before the Board of Transparency and Public Ethics (Jutep). In that document, the vehicle is listed with a value of 3,396,570 Uruguayan pesos, equivalent to around USD 79,000 at the February 2025 exchange rate. The invoice, by contrast, issued by the Oliva Automotores dealership on 21 February 2025, records the price actually paid by the president as USD 54,000.
According to data provided by the presidency, payment was made through a combination of the trade-in of a Hyundai 2020 model owned by the president-elect and a bank transfer. The used vehicle had been declared by Orsi in his 2024 sworn statement with an approximate value of USD 29,000. The presidency did not specify the amount recognized by the dealership for the vehicle delivered as partial payment, nor the exact figure transferred electronically, leaving the precise mechanics of the operation partially unresolved.
The controversy is anchored in a regulatory discussion. Article 9 of Law 19.823, which governs the Uruguayan Code of Ethics of the Public Function, expressly prohibits public officials from soliciting or receiving “gifts, gratuities, rewards, or advantages” linked to the exercise of public office. Orsi's particular situation involves a complication: the transaction was completed eight days before he assumed office, meaning that at the time he did not yet hold the status of a serving public official. However, his condition as president-elect and the size of the discount have generated debate over the scope of the norm.
The episode unfolds within a politically adverse context for the president, whose approval ratings have declined steadily in recent months according to the main polling firms. Factum recently placed Orsi's approval at 29% against a disapproval of 46%, while Equipos Consultores estimated similar figures. The presidency has not issued an institutional statement on the vehicle matter beyond the documentary release to the journalist who initiated the inquiries.
Top Comments
Disclaimer & comment rulesNo comments for this story
Please log in or register (it’s free!) to comment. Login with Facebook